Exposure to social media presents high risks of privacy invasion, cyberbullying and distraction from learning to young girls, according to a new report by UNESCO.
The UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization's latest Global Education Monitor (GEM) reportn released on Thursday, examines the issue of technology in education through a gender lens.
Senior Policy Analyst from the GEM report team Anna Daddio says the report highlights progress in the reversal of discrimination against girls over the past two decades but also exposes the negative impact of technology on girls' education opportunities and outcomes.
"Girls on social media are much more exposed to different forms of harassment. Cyber cyberbullying is much more frequent among girls than among boys," Daddio told UN News.
"There is increasing evidence that shows that increased exposure to social media is related to mental health problems, eating disorders and many other issues that condition and distract social media users, and particularly girls, from education which affects their academic achievement."
Instagram has reportedly accounted for 32 per cent of teenage girls' feeling worse about their bodies after consuming the platform's content, according to a Facebook statistic cited in the report.
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